Workpiece-based setting of weld parameters

ABSTRACT

An example welding system includes: a visual acquisition system comprising an imaging device and configured to acquire a visual representation of a weld part and to convert the visual representation into data representative of weld part features; and a part recognition component comprising processing circuitry configured to: receive the digital data; identify one or more features of the weld part in response to receipt of the digital signal; compare the digital signal to stored data of a plurality of weld parts stored in a weld part database to match one or more identified features to a known weld part of the plurality of weld parts stored in the weld part database; identify weld settings stored in a weld parameter database associated with the matching known weld part of the plurality of weld parts stored in the weld part database; and send the weld settings to a welding power supply.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/485,653, filed May 31, 2012, and claims priority to U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application Ser. No. 61/501,651, entitled, “Workpiece-BasedSetting of Weld Parameters”, filed Jun. 27, 2011. The entireties of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 13/485,653 and U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 61/501,651 are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

The invention relates generally to welding systems, and moreparticularly to welding systems that enable automatic or semi-automaticsetting of weld parameters based on one or more features of a workpiece.

Welding is a process that has become increasingly ubiquitous in allindustries. While such processes may be automated in certain contexts, alarge number of applications continue to exist for manual weldingoperations performed by skilled welding technicians. Traditional processwelding systems support a variety of processes, such as metal inert gas(MIG) welding, tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding, stick welding, and soforth, which may operate in different modes, such as constant current orconstant voltage. These power sources provide conditioned power for thewelding application, and features of this provided power are governed byone or more setting input by a welding operator. For example, weldingprocesses and settings traditionally require a manual adjustment via anoperator interface on or proximate to the welding power source. Manywelding applications, such as welding of aerospace parts, require theoperator to utilize a TIG process, typically for finer or more intricatewelds. In some cases, setting up the welding power source for TIG orother intricate forms of welding a desired part may be time consumingand subject to variations from desired parameters, thus reducing theefficiency and accuracy of the welding process. Accordingly, thereexists a need for systems and methods that enable accurate and efficientsetup of welding power supplies for a given weld, particularly inenvironments where the welding operation is intricate and involves thecorrect setting of multiple parameters.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

In one embodiment, a welding system is designed for welding a part inwhich at least one weld joint is to be made. The welding system includesa visual acquisition system having an imaging device being adapted toacquire a visual representation of the weld part and to convert thevisual representation into a digital signal representative of the weldpart features. The welding system also includes a part recognitionsystem having processing circuitry and memory. The processing circuitryis adapted to receive the digital signal and to compare the digitalsignal to data stored in the memory to identify the weld part, weldsettings appropriate for welding the weld part, or both.

In another embodiment, a welding system is designed to operate with aweld part and an identification tag disposed on the weld part. Theidentification tag encodes data corresponding to the weld part. Anidentification tag reader is adapted to scan the identification tag toread the encoded data and to convert the data into an electrical signal.A part recognition system includes processing circuitry adapted toreceive the electrical signal and to compare the electrical signal tostored data to identify weld settings appropriate for welding the weldjoint of the weld part.

In a further embodiment, a method for identifying weld settings includesacquiring a digital data derived from a visual image of a weld part,extracting one or more distinguishing features of the weld part from thedigital data, comparing the one or more distinguishing features tostored data, determining weld settings appropriate for welding the weldpart based on the comparison, and providing the weld settings to awelding power supply configured to weld the weld part.

DRAWINGS

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the presentinvention will become better understood when the following detaileddescription is read with reference to the accompanying drawings in whichlike characters represent like parts throughout the drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatical illustration of a welding system having avisual acquisition system and a part recognition system capable ofidentifying weld settings appropriate for welding a weld part inaccordance with disclosed embodiments;

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatical representation of certain exemplarycomponents of the welding system of FIG. 1 capable of communicating toset weld parameters suitable for a welding operation in accordance witha disclosed embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatical illustration of an exemplary welding systemhaving an identification system and a part recognition system capable ofidentifying weld settings appropriate for welding a weld part inaccordance with disclosed embodiments; and

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatical representation illustrating exemplary logicthat may be utilized to identify weld settings appropriate for welding aweld part in accordance with a disclosed embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As discussed in detail below, various embodiments of welding systems andmethods are disclosed that enable setting of weld parameters based onfeatures of a weld part or workpiece. Some embodiments may include avisual acquisition system capable of obtaining a digital image of a weldpart, converting the digital image into an electrical signal or data,and transmitting the signal or data to a part recognition system. Inthese embodiments, the part recognition system may evaluate the receivedelectrical signal or data to extract one or more identifying features ofthe weld part from the acquired image data. Once identified, thesefeatures may be compared to one or more sets of data (which may bedefined by code, stored in databases, and so froth) to identify weldsettings appropriate for welding the imaged weld part. The foregoingfeatures may enable a welding power supply to be automatically preloaded(or reset) with appropriate settings for welding a given part, thusreducing or eliminating the time necessary for a manual operator tospend to set up the welding power supply for welding the given part.This may be particularly advantageous for the setup of welding powersupplies when performing intricate welds, such as welds performedutilizing tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding, although presently disclosedembodiments are compatible with a variety of suitable welding processes,such as metal inert gas (MIG) welding, stick welding, and so forth, orany particular welding process or regime. Furthermore, it should benoted that although the illustrated embodiments are described in thecontext of welding systems, the presently disclosed embodiments are alsocompatible with a variety of cutting and heating systems, such as plasmacutting systems. In these embodiments, the welding power suppliesdisclosed herein may be cutting or heating power supplies, and the weldparts may be parts to be cut or heated.

Turning now to the drawings, FIG. 1 illustrates a welding system 10having a visual acquisition system 12, a part recognition system 14, anda welding power supply 16. In the depicted embodiment, an operator 18utilizes these systems to evaluate a weld part 20, which is theworkpiece for a welding operation. In the illustrated embodiment, thevisual acquisition system 12 includes an imaging device 22 (e.g., acamera) positioned in or on a welding helmet 24 worn by the welder 18.The field of view of the imaging device 22 is designed to encompass atleast the area where the weld part 20 is located, which may include boththe weld part and a portion of the surrounding environment. In certainembodiments, this field of view may overlap partially or entirely withthe field of view of the operator 18 when viewing the weld part 20through a lens of the helmet 24. However, it should be noted that inother embodiments, the visual acquisition system 12 may be mounted inother locations on the welding helmet 24 or may not be mounted inwelding headgear. For example, the visual acquisition system 12 may be,more generally, a system capable of obtaining a digital image of theweld part 20. Such components may be positioned, for example, in desiredlocations on a fixture, in a weld cell, on a robot or automated weldingsetup, or could be desired for handheld utilization by the operator, andso forth.

During operation, the imaging device 22 is activated to acquire adigital image 26 of the weld part 20. The weld part image 26 isconverted into a transmittable electrical signal or data by the visualacquisition system 12 and communicated to the part recognition system14. The part recognition system 14, upon receiving this electricalsignal or data that is representative of the weld part image 26,identifies one or more features of the weld part 20 and references datafor determining appropriate welding system settings. For example, thereference data may be stored in a weld part database 28. The systemmatches the identified features to known weld parts 30, 32, and 34.Although only three known weld parts are shown, the weld part database28 may include any quantity of known reference weld parts. It shouldalso be noted that the database may be stored in the system itself or inany component or network device accessible by the system. Furthermore,the use of a database for storing the part definitions and associatedsettings may be implemented otherwise, such as via executed code thatchecks for matches between image-derived part data and known data forparts.

In some embodiments, the part recognition system 14 may identify a weldpart match in the weld part database 28 and may further utilize thismatch to identify a set of weld parameters from a weld parameterdatabase 36 that are suitable for use when welding the weld part 20.That is, the part recognition system 14 checks whether the firstparameter set 38, the second parameter set 40, the third parameter set42, or another parameter set contained within the weld parameterdatabase 36 corresponds to the identified weld part match. Onceidentified, the part recognition system 14 communicates the suitableweld settings 44 contained in the identified parameter set to thewelding power supply 16. In this way, the welding power supply 16 may bepreloaded with or reset to automatically determined weld settings 44that are appropriate for welding the weld part 20. Here again, themethodology for identification of part matches and associated settingsmay be performed otherwise, such as by code that sequentially checks formatches between the image-derived part data and predefined part data.

Communication between the visual acquisition system 12, the partrecognition system 14, and the welding power supply 16 illustrated inFIG. 1 is depicted to occur over wired connections. It should be noted,however, that the presently disclosed embodiments are not limited tothis or any particular mode of communication. Indeed, the illustratedsystems may communicate via wired connections, wireless protocols,removable memory, a combination thereof, or any other suitablecommunication protocol.

FIG. 2 illustrates examples of components that may be included in thevisual acquisition system 12, the part recognition system 14, and thewelding power supply 16 of FIG. 1 in exemplary embodiments. The visualacquisition system 12 includes a camera assembly 46 and a power supply48 that interface with processing circuitry 50 and memory 52. The cameraassembly 46 includes a digital detector 54 (e.g., a CCD, CMOS circuit,etc.), a driver circuit 56, and memory 58. The detector 54, capturesvideo or still images and converts them to electrical signals or data.Driver circuit 56 is provided for generating drive signals for operationof the camera. Camera memory 58 may be the primary means of storingcertain information, particularly camera settings, recording settings,and so forth. As noted above, the camera assembly 46 may be apre-packaged unit capable of being added to the helmet 24 or anotherweld device or may be configured as a standalone unit.

The camera assembly 46 interfaces with both the processing circuitry 50and/or memory 52. It should be noted that the processing circuitry 50will typically either include its own memory, or may be associated withmemory, such as for storing algorithms and instructions executed by theprocessing circuitry during operation, as well as image data on whichthe processing is performed. The processing circuitry 50 may communicatewith the camera assembly 46 to set camera parameters such as exposuretime and gain (e.g., sensitivity). Furthermore, it may perform imageprocessing algorithms and may compress the acquired image of the weldpart into a standard format. In certain embodiments, the processingcircuitry 50 may store the acquired images of the weld part on thememory 52, which may be a USB flash drive, SD card, etc. In someembodiments, the processing circuitry 50 may also receive and processinformation originating from components external to the visualacquisition system 12, such as inputs from the part recognition system14 and/or the welding power supply 16.

The power supply 48 provides power for the components of the visualacquisition system 12, and may include a central power regulator 55 thatreceives power from a battery 57 and/or photovoltaic cells 59, a switch60, and a low power detector 62. The power regulator 55 may consist ofone or more DC-DC voltage regulators that convert battery power and/orlight energy into power levels that the visual acquisition system 12 canuse and supplies the camera assembly 46 with power. The battery 57 maybe but is not limited to lithium-ion, lithium-polymer, AA, or coin stylebatteries that may be rechargeable or non-rechargeable. The switch 60enables the user to manually power the system off or on. In certainembodiments, a passive switch, such as a toggle switch or push button,may be used. In other embodiments, an active switch, such as a touch orvoice sensor, may be chosen instead or in addition to the manual switch.The low power detector 62 indicates when the device needs to berecharged or the batteries need to be replaced. In certain embodiments,it may consist of a low-battery monitor or a comparator used with aconstant voltage reference. In some embodiments, an indicator, such asan LED, may alert the user through flashing or other means that thebattery needs to be recharged or replaced.

The processing circuitry 50 of the visual acquisition system 12 mayinterface with other system components to transmit and receive signalsto coordinate operation of the welding system 10. For example, theprocessing circuitry 50 may wirelessly communicate with processingcircuitry 64 of the part recognition system 14. For further example, theprocessing circuitry 50 may generate electrical signals or datacorresponding to an image of the weld part acquired on the detector 54and may transmit this electrical signal to the processing circuitry 64of the part recognition system 14. The processing circuitry 64 of thepart recognition system 14 may then reference memory 66 to identifyappropriate weld settings for welding the given weld part. That is, aspreviously described, the processing circuitry 64 may reference one ormore databases to identify suitable weld settings for the weld partbased on one or more features of the weld part. Once the appropriateweld settings are determined, these settings are communicated from thepart recognition system 14 to the welding power supply 16. A number ofanalysis and processing techniques may be utilized for the partrecognition phase of this operation, such as edge detection, contrastanalysis, scaling, rotation, as well as known sophisticated image dataregistration and recognition techniques, depending, for example, uponthe complexity of the part, the quality of the captured image data, thenumber of parts to be distinguished, and so forth.

The welding power supply 16 includes control circuitry 68 havingprocessing circuitry 70 and associated memory 72 and being adapted toreceive the transmitted weld settings. The memory 72 may includevolatile or non-volatile memory, such as read only memory (ROM), randomaccess memory (RAM), magnetic storage memory, optical storage memory, ora combination thereof. Furthermore, a variety of control parameters maybe stored in the memory along with code configured to provide a specificoutput (e.g., initiate wire feed, enable gas flow, establish thereceived weld settings, etc.) during operation of the welding system.The welding power supply 16 also includes a user interface, throughwhich the welding operator may accept or alter the preloaded weldsettings. Further, the user interface 74 located on the power supply 16may enable a user to set the desired process (e.g., set constantcurrent, constant voltage, or regulated metal deposition), set thepolarity (e.g., set direct current electrode negative (DCEN) or directcurrent electrode positive (DCEP)), enable or disable a wire feed,enable or disable gas flow, and so forth.

Additionally, the welding power supply 16 also includes power conversioncircuitry 76 that is configured to receive primary power, for example,alternating current (AC) power 78, and to convert the primary power toan output suitable for use in a welding operation 80. The power appliedto the power conversion circuitry 76 may originate in a power grid,although other sources of power may also be used, such as powergenerated by an engine-driven generator, batteries, fuel cells or otheralternative sources. Further, various power conversion circuits may beemployed, including choppers, boost circuitry, buck circuitry,inverters, converters, and so forth.

FIG. 3 illustrates an embodiment of a welding system 82 including anidentification system 84, a part recognition system 14, and a weldingpower supply 16. In this embodiment, the identification system 84 isconfigured to obtain information regarding the weld part 20 from anidentification tag 86 disposed thereon, or in any way associated withthe part (e.g., on a work order, a process sheet, and so forth). To thatend, a tag reader 88 is utilized by the welding operator 18 to read theidentification tag 86. In particular embodiments, the identification tag86 may include a bar code corresponding to the weld part 20 and/orfeatures of the weld joint to be welded, and the tag reader 88 may be abar code reader. Once the identification tag 86 is read, theidentification system 84 communicates the code 90 from theidentification tag 86 of the weld part to the part recognition system14. Other tagging technologies may, of course, be employed, such asradiofrequency identification technologies.

The part recognition system 14 utilizes the weld part code 90 toidentify a reference weld part (e.g., first weld part 30, second weldpart 32, or third weld part 34) in the weld part database 28 (or viacode) that corresponds to the weld part 20. Once identified, the partrecognition system 14 utilizes the weld parameter database 36 toidentify a suitable parameter set containing weld settings appropriatefor welding the weld part 20. As before, the part recognition system 14may then communicate these settings to the welding power supply 16 tofacilitate the proper setup of the welding power supply 16 for weldingof the weld part 20. Again, the foregoing feature may reduce the amountof time necessary for the welding operator 18 to properly configure thewelding power supply for welding the weld part 20.

FIG. 4 is illustrates exemplary logic in a method 92 that may beutilized to identify weld settings appropriate for welding a weld partin accordance with a disclosed embodiment. The method 92 includesacquiring a visual representation of the weld part (block 94) andanalyzing the acquired data to extract one or more landmark featurescharacteristic of the weld part (block 96). For example, a camera may beutilized to acquire the image, and processing circuitry may then processthe image to identify characteristic features of the weld part, such asthe size or shape of the part. Once the characteristic features havebeen identified, the method 92 includes referencing the weld partdatabase (or executed code) to compare the landmark features of the weldpart to those of the reference parts (block 98).

The method 92 further includes checking whether the database contains amatching part that corresponds to the weld part (block 100). That is, acontroller or processor attempts to match the characteristic features ofthe unknown weld part to characteristic features of a known weld part.In some embodiments, a known weld part may be considered a match for anunknown weld part if the differences between the characteristicsfeatures of each part are below a preset threshold. For example, in oneembodiment, if the unknown part matches approximately 95% or more of thefeatures of a known part, the known and unknown part may be designatedas a match. Depending on the application and operational mode, thisthreshold may be predetermined by a welding operator or automaticallyset by the controller.

If the part database does include a match for the unknown part, the weldparameter database is referenced to identify the weld settings that areappropriate for welding the known part that corresponds to the unknownpart (block 102). Since the known part and the unknown part are a match,the weld settings identified for the known part may also be appropriatefor welding of the unknown part. Accordingly, once identified, thesesettings are communicated to the welding power supply (block 104), andthe welding power supply is set up for welding of the weld part. Aspreviously mentioned, in certain embodiments, the welding operator mayalter one or more of these settings if desired before welding.Nevertheless, in instances in which a match is identified, the foregoingfeatures may substantially reduce the setup time typically expended bythe welding operator.

If the part database does not include a match that is within the presetthreshold, the weld part database is referenced to determine if apartial match can be identified (block 106). For example, in someembodiments, if the unknown part matches approximately 75% or more ofthe features of a known part, the known and unknown part may bedesignated as a partial match. Again, as before, the threshold fordetermination of a partial match may be preprogrammed into the controllogic or may be set by an operator for each welding application. If apartial match is not identified, the operator is alerted that the weldpart database does not include a match for the unknown weld part (block108).

In some instances, the weld part database may include more than oneknown part that qualifies as a partial match based on the presetthreshold. In these cases, the settings for each of the identifiedpartial matches are located in the weld parameter database and analyzedfor similarities and differences (block 110). In this way, thecontroller may identify a weld parameter set by comparing the weldparameter sets for each of the partial matches. In instances in whichthe identified parameter sets call for different settings for the sameparameter, the controller may provide the operator with a choice betweensettings, automatically determine the setting, provide the operator anaverage of the two values, or may prompt the user for feedback. Once anappropriate set of weld parameters has been determined, however, theweld settings are communicated to the welding power supply (block 112),and the operator is alerted that a partial match was made (block 114),thus prompting the user to verify the settings before beginning to weldthe weld part.

While only certain features of the invention have been illustrated anddescribed herein, many modifications and changes will occur to thoseskilled in the art. It is, therefore, to be understood that the appendedclaims are intended to cover all such modifications and changes as fallwithin the true spirit of the invention.

1. A welding system, comprising: a visual acquisition system comprisingan imaging device and configured to acquire a visual representation of aweld part and to convert the visual representation into datarepresentative of weld part features; and a part recognition componentcomprising processing circuitry configured to: receive the digital data;identify one or more features of the weld part in response to receipt ofthe digital signal; compare the digital signal to stored data of aplurality of weld parts stored in a weld part database to match one ormore identified features to a known weld part of the plurality of weldparts stored in the weld part database; identify weld settings stored ina weld parameter database associated with the matching known weld partof the plurality of weld parts stored in the weld part database; andsend the weld settings to a welding power supply to be implementedduring a weld operation.
 2. The welding system of claim 1, comprisingthe welding power supply configured to communicate with the partrecognition component to receive the weld parameter set and to altersetup of the welding power supply to implement the weld parameter setprior to initiation of a weld operation.
 3. The welding system of claim1, wherein the visual acquisition system is disposed in or on a weldinghelmet configured to be worn by a welding operator.
 4. The weldingsystem of claim 1, wherein the imaging device comprises a digital cameraconfigured to capture the visual representation and to convert thevisual representation to the data.
 5. The welding system of claim 1,wherein the visual acquisition system comprises a power source and apower regulator configured to cooperate to supply power to the imagingdevice.
 6. The welding system of claim 1, wherein the part recognitioncomponent is configured to distinguish between multiple parts havingrespective associated weld settings based on one or more visualrepresentations of the multiple parts and respective characteristicgeometric features of the multiple parts.
 7. The welding system of claim1, wherein the weld settings include selection of an appropriate weldingprocess or regime.
 8. The welding system of claim 1, wherein the partrecognition component is configured to determine the weld parameter setby: comparing corresponding weld parameters of the weld settings foreach of the two or more of the plurality of known part; and in responseto identifying a difference between the weld settings for one of theweld parameters, prompt an operator to select between the different weldsettings.
 9. The welding system of claim 1, wherein the part recognitioncomponent is configured to determine the weld parameter set by:comparing corresponding weld parameters of the weld settings for each ofthe two or more of the plurality of known parts; and in response toidentifying a difference between the weld settings for one of the weldparameters, automatically determine the weld settings.
 10. The weldingsystem of claim 1, wherein the part recognition component is configuredto determine the weld parameter set by: comparing corresponding weldparameters of the weld settings for each of the two or more of theplurality of known parts; and in response to identifying a differencebetween the weld settings for one of the weld parameters, determine anaverage of the weld parameters based on the weld settings.